Squiggly Faces
by DJ Lee
Summary: Toph is curious to know how her traveling companions look like and believes that rock art may be the solution to her problem. Taang.


**Disclaimer:** Avatar the Last Airbender copyright Michael DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Nickelodeon. No copyright infringement is intended. Story was created for entertainment purposes only and if requested to be removed, it will be done immediately and without complaint.

**Warning:** Story contains slight spoilers from after "Day of Black Sun" though there is not much.

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Toph stomped the ground, shooting out another wave of pebbles surrounding the small pile of rocks she had a few meters away from her. _No, that's not it_, she thought with a frown and stomped on the ground again, feeling as the rocks disappeared from the surface of the earth. That was her fifth try and she still couldn't figure it out, until an idea struck her. With a grin, Toph coordinated the pebbles accordingly around the pile of rocks in the center until she was satisfied.

The young earthbender worked this way for the next few minutes until she had a whole array of strange pieces of art made from boulders and pebbles.

"What are those?" asked her companion as he landed from the air and folding up his glider.

Gesturing toward her art pieces, Toph responded, "Can't you tell?"

The airbender shook his head and answered softly, "No."

Toph slapped her forehead and ran her hand down her face. "It's us!"

"Us?" questioned the confused boy. He took another glance back at the rock art and then titled his head to one side, then the other. Then finally, he said, "Nope, still don't see it."

The young earthbender released an exasperated sigh and pointed to a random piece in her collection. "Over there on the far end, that's Appa, then it's Momo, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, you, and then me."

Aang's mouth was in an 'O' as if he understood, but when he looked back at the rock piles, he couldn't help but let out a laugh against his will, afraid of Toph's anger.

"What are you laughing at!"

At that point, Aang couldn't stifle his laughter anymore and burst out in a wave of laughs. He managed to dodge the various rocks headed in his direction before he finally calmed down enough to answer her question. "I'm sorry, Toph… but it's just so funny!"

"What is?" she half growled.

Pointing at the rock art, Aang felt a wave of laughter come over himself again, but restrained himself since Toph was now in closer proximity than before. "Appa's eyes are smaller and Momo has larger ears. Oh Oh!! You forgot Katara's hair-loopies and Sokka…" Before he could finish, he burst into another small wave of laughter. "Sokka does not have beard like _that_. Though he does seem to like using it a lot ever since he got it."

"Anything else?" growled a seething Toph.

"Oh yea! Zuko has one eyebrow and a bigger nose. But I must say, you did a pretty good job of drawing me, but I don't think my ears are THAT big…"

Shooting a glare in Aang's direction, Toph retorted, "Yea they are. Sokka told me about your fortune teller incident where some girl came up to you and wanted to marry you because you have big ears."

Aang turned scarlet at the memory. "Don't remind me! I was stalked by her the whole time we were in the village!"

"Are you done critiquing me, Twinkle Toes?" asked Toph with a chuckle.

"Yup!" The airbender then proceeded to plop down on the ground next to his earthbending teacher. "Thanks for the pictures Toph! It's a little boring around here when all I do is train around here."

Though still put out about the insults in her art, Toph plopped down next to the Avatar and grunted.

After sitting in companionable silence for what felt like hours, Aang turned to his silent friend and poked her softly in the arm, who responded by turning her head his direction. "Is something wrong?"

She turned her head away from him and hugged her knees. "No."

Aang felt the guilt settle in his stomach. Maybe he shouldn't have made fun of Toph's rock at just then. _She probably wants to be alone_, he thought to himself when she didn't move an inch or say a word. Sighing to himself, the Avatar stood up from the ground, ready to leave, when her voice stopped him.

"I was curious."

He felt compelled to stay when she started talking. She seemed sad at first and felt guilty for causing it, so he returned to his spot next to hear, listening intently for what she had to say.

"Everyone is always talking about new things they buy or new clothes. Sometimes even new hair or appearances. But I… I can't see any of that." She felt a tear sliding down the side of her face, but made no move to rub it away. She didn't care if he saw her this way.

"Was that why you were out here making pictures of us?" Aang asked carefully.

Toph closed her eyes and nodded. "I wanted to see how all of you look. I… I also wanted to see _I_ look…"

With a soft smile, Aang placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "How about I help you?"

Curious as to what he meant, she could only wait for he took his hand away a minute later and started bending large boulders out of the earth. She had the slightest clue what he was trying to do until she felt various chunks of boulders being chipped off from the large rock. Only then did Toph realize what he was trying to do.

Jealousy stemmed in the bottom of her stomach. "You're good at art _too_?"

A chuckle met her question. Aang continued to bend each boulder until he finished the last one. It was then that Toph could really appreciate what he had done. He hard carved earthen statues of their gAang's heads.

"Well, how do you like it?" Aang asked with a cheeky grin.

She didn't know when tears had started trickling down her face, but she didn't care. She was taking in every detail those statues provided her of her traveling companions and the one Aang had made of her.

Aang was unsure what to do when he saw the tears in Toph's eyes. He sure that she would be glad, so why was she crying? Rubbing the back of his head nervously, Aang carefully approached his friend and patted her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. "There, there… don't cry, Toph. I didn't mean to make you sad…" He never _was_ good at comforting… What he didn't expect was for her to lean over and land a small kiss on his cheek, turning his face a dark scarlet once again.

"Thanks, Aang. This meant a lot to me," said Toph with a smile as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

The young airbender laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head, willing his face to return to normal.

"But I think there's something wrong with your boulder," said the young earthbender with a grin.

This couldn't help but catch the airbender's attention. A moment later, the statue of himself grew larger eyes. Aang slapped his forehead. "No! Not the ears _again_!"

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**Author's Notes:** I said that I wouldn't have an update up until after my exams, but this sudden idea came and wouldn't go away until I wrote it down. So, here it is! It's a little short and the writing is a bit awkward because I think my writing is more suited to somber stories. But eh... nothing can be done about it. Enjoy!

Oh, yes... I have a feeling that someone might point how this is another one of those "Toph wants to see their faces" stories. I read one or two of them and felt compelled to write my own, though with a slight twist. I hope you enjoy nonetheless.


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